Sociology

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Personal Description:

I'm a Queen's University Belfast graduate in English and Drama (1st Class Honours) and I also achieved a Masters in English (Broadcast Literacy). I have been mentoring and tutoring pupils since I was in sixth form; running various drama classes and mentoring KS3 English pupils allowing them to achieve the highest possible grades. I then progressed to mentoring GCSE, A-level and degree level pupils as my qualifications and passion for the subjects grew.
I came to Queen's to study English and Drama and through intensive training and revision I achieved a first class honours classification. Concerning Drama I am skilled in both the theory (history of theatre, classical plays, Postmodern Theatre) and practical (acting, directing, writing, stage management) elements and am comfortable tutoring for exams as well as auditions.
I have tutored in English for several years, developing individualised lesson plans for pupils depending on the various issues they have faced. I am up to date on the current curriculum for AQA and CCEA exam boards for both subjects as well as having access to a wide range of degree level resources.
After my degree I took advantage of attaining within the top ten of English students at Queen's that year and embarked upon an MA in English, specialising in Broadcast Literacy and Journalism.

Tutoring Experience:

* 2 years tutoring KS3 level pupils in English
* 5 years tutoring GCSE level pupils in English and Drama
* 5 years tutoring A-level Sociology
* 5 years tutoring A-level English and Drama, most recently tutoring in English and Drama for Queen's University as part of the Widening Participation Unit of the Student Guidance Centre.

Tutoring Approach:

In all aspects of the tutoring I offer I am approachable, patient and I endeavour to make the process as interesting as possible. I am extremely passionate about these subjects and feedback I've received from students that I have tutored reflects this.

English - As an essay subject English can present a whole host of problems for students. However the best way to overcome the majority of them is through practice. I find English tutoring is most successful through the student writing essays that will cover a variety of the themes that can appear in the exam - Then I provide detailed, structured and encouraging feedback along with exercises aimed at overcoming the issues that I find within the work. I will usually follow this with a phone call or meeting to go through feedback and ensure the tutee understands the steps needed in order to improve.

Drama - If interested in Conservatoire/Acting schools, I will mentor the tutee in audition technique, interview preparation, the intensive 'actioning' and table-work of the various pieces they need to prepare and then the shaping and polishing of the pieces to help achieve a successful audition piece. For GCSE and A-level I will assist with practical elements of their exams, provide exercises aimed at breathing, voice work, movement and characterisation. I will also help with the theory aspect; the context of the plays they are studying, examining the technical issues - costume, lighting, staging in order to help them achieve highly in their exam.

Sociology - As a theory-heavy essay subject, the best way to achieve highly is to employ a revision strategy that caters to the tutees own brand of learning; kinaesthetic, visual, aural etc and ensuring they can write critically with an ability to sift through material and lift from it only the essential information for their essay that will demonstrate solid KO1 (knowledge) and KO2 (evaluation and understanding). having been taught by a chief examiner for AQA for my own A-level I feel I can be extremely valuable to any student struggling with this subject.

Reply from Colm G: Glad to have helped Eileen, Aoife has made great improvements!

Colm GFrom Ross (5/5): (A-Level Sociology)If I could give Colm more than 5 stars, I would. He bent over backwards, during a very busy period of work for himself, to ensure that I was prepared for my Sociology exams. He was flexible with time and meeting place which was very helpful. Perhaps the best thing was Colm's grasp of language in the subject and his ability to re-word things to make them more understandable to me, I felt I learnt so much given the short space of time we had together. In every area of my study I was catered too and he is honestly the most down to earth approachable guy you could have the pleasure of meeting. Whatever you are studying, I would highly recommend him.